The Great Divide: Wall Street versus Main Street

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coe

LD – It seems to me that the ongoing demonization of most things related to Wall St and the big banks – the venality, greed, elitism, and wretched excesses – as well as the presumed personal benefits coming at the expense of Main St USA, may well be deserved on many levels but also perhaps is getting quite old and is missing the mark. What percentage of people involved in these industries are hard-working and ethical, and yet in many cases, find themselves holding the same sign as the one in the cartoon? It just strikes me that we as a country have been heading on a dangerous path for quite some time – whether the “villain” de jour is the corrupt politician, the greedy executive, the pampered athlete, the deified entertainer, the “entitled” charlatan, the sleazy lawyer, or any other individual/group that fits these depictions. In my view, it’s more a sign of the misguided value system that infects our lives, and in some ways can be found at the heart of the banker’s comment – “Must it always be about you?” Well, pardon the soapbox perspective, but what he really seems to be pointing at is that everything is about personal aggrandizement at the expense of the community good. I’m really afraid that the cult of celebrity has set us all up for a rude awakening. It just so happens that the vapor trail of zeros tied to Wall St activities and compensation are having their well earned moment in the spotlight. Last I looked, it seems that Wall St has played and continues to play a significant role in our economy and that of the global scene…I agree in your call for better transparency and more thoughtful and effective regulation…but there seems to be deeper problems here – at least that is my opinion…perhaps Bono has the answer in one of his U2 songs!

fiscalliberal

You have valid points of discussion, however in the end, it was the wall street banking system that took down my stocks, jepordized my pension and resulted in low savings on my CD rates.

So – I would argue that these innocent wall street banking people need to speak up and clean the house up. I suspec that is what Larry Doyle is doing.

So – I am still calling for hanging all investment bankers at high noon on the hottest day and letting them rot in the sun. That will serve as an example for others to contemplate following the path they took.

divvytrader

meanwhile , Bawney Fwank and Chris Dodd applaud the folks bringing back subprime lending with a bang ! Look at these ads ! All but pushing folks to drain the equity out of their homes , buy with just 3.5% down and even offering teaser ARM’s again ! ( https://www.quickenloans.com/home-loans/fha-loan )

Mike B

Just give it a few years and FHA will be in line looking for a bailout. The American people will one day figure out how they have been fleeced and they will toss out the professional politician and Wall Street Elites that rule the world. That day has temporarily been postponed but it will come to pass.

America is in deep trouble and it refuses to admit or deal with the rot/weed in the system. The weed has roots and when you cut off the leaf you do not kill the seed and the root that will continue to grow.

As America goes further into debt and no one is left to fund that debt, you will see capiatl controls or severe taxes for anyone who takes capital out of the USA….capital controls are coming at some point in the next 3-10 years and America’s standard of living will deteriorate further until the masses rise up.